Sunday, December 11, 2005

India's Silicon Valley to get a Telugu name?

Vizag, Bombay, Trivandrum, Calcutta, Madras and now ... Bangalore

'Chief minister N Dharam Singh told reporters in Gulbarga on Sunday: "We will rename Bangalore as Bengaluru on November 1, 2006, to mark the launch of Karnataka's Golden Jubilee year - Suvarna Karnataka - on that day. I have issued a directive to chief secretary B K Das in this regard." ' - Times of India, December 11, 2005

Obviously, when Mr. Singh refers to 'Bengaluru', he means the Kannada equivalent of the city's anglicized name - Bangalore. Then where does Telugu come in ?

Apart from the fact that Telugus also pronounce Bangalore as బెంగలూరు ( Benga-loo-ru ) in their language, the Telugu connection is clearly evident in the following historical facts:

According to Wikipedia's article on Bangalore , ' The inscription stone found near Begur reveals, that the district was part of the Ganga kingdom ruled from Gangavadi until 1004 and was known as 'Benga-val-oru', the City of Guards in Telugu ' .

According to Dr. R. Narayana's article titled 'Kempe Gowdas of Bangalore' , the city was founded much later by Hiriya Kempe Gowda (c 1513-1569, c 1510-1570 AD) who is also called Kempe Gowda, Kempe Gowda I or Bengalooru Kempe Gowda.

'On the site of the present Kodigehalli village towards the North-inward side of Hebbal tank, there was a small hamlet called "Hale Benga-looru" from where his mother and his wife hailed, Therefore he gave the name Bengalooru, to the new town. '

Now 'hale' in Kannada means 'old'. But you cannot label a village 'old bangalore' unless you have a 'new bangalore' existing! It is very much possible that the name 'hale benga-looru' came into existence later.

Reading the article further we also know that Telugu was the official court language of the Gowdas, and Kempe Gowda also composed గంగా-గౌరీసల్పము ( Ganga-Gouri Sallapamu ), a yakshagana in Telugu.

Also given - ' A palm leaf manuscript of six leaves, written in Kannada and Telugu (now in Karnataka state archives), also gives the genealogy of the Magadi chiefs with a brief account of the achievements of each '.

' The Yelahankanadu (14 Kms. from Bangalore) Prabhus were Gowdas or tillers of the Land. They belonged to Morasu Vokkalu sect, the ancestors of which were migrants from Morasunadu near Kanjeepuram (16 miles from Bangalore on the Bangalore-Madras Hwy). They used to speak Telugu. '

' successor Kempe Gowda II built the Ulsoor Tank, the Karanjee Tank, the Sampangi Tank, the Someswara Temple of Ulsoor, the famous four Kempe Gowda Towers and the Ranganatha Temple in Balapete, Bangalore.

There is an inscription dated 1628 in this Ranganatha Temple in Telugu. The English translation of this is "Be it well, When Rajadhi-Raja-Parameshwara Vira Pratapa Vira-Maha-Deva Maharaya seated in the Jewel throne was ruling the empire of the world: When of the Asannavakula, the Yelahanka Nadu Prabhu Kempanacharya-Gauni's grandson Kempe Gowda' '

Finally, a popular anecdote which contradicts the earlier Begur stone inscription about Benga-val-oru ( City of Guards ), but still maintains the Telugu connection (!!) states that the Hoysala king Veera Ballala II during a hunting expedition in the present area of Bangalore, lost his way. The tired and hungry king came upon the hut of an old woman. The humble woman served boiled beans to the hungry king. The grateful king named the place Benda-kaalu-ooru. This ( బెండకాయిల ఓరు ) clearly means 'boiled-beans-town' in Telugu. Of course, it means the same thing in Kannada too.The Imperial Gazeteer of British India, states that word of this incident eventually spread and the town that sprang up around the village was eventually called Bengaluru [wikipedia].

From the above facts and the anecdote, we can clearly see the తెలుగుదనం ( telugudanam ) inherent in the name of India's Silicon Valley.

This is NOT an attempt by me to prove that 'Bengaluru' is a Telugu, and not a Kannada word. Instead, I just want to say that the Telugu history behind this word cannot be ignored.

The name of the second largest Silicon Valley in the world has Telugu origins.

Or does it not?

The answer to the question doesn't seem to be important at this stage. What is more striking is the beautiful revival of the Kannada identity we see now. Kannadigas finally want to tell the world and the 70% non-Kannadigas residing in their city that after all, it is 'Namma Bengaluru' ( Our Bengaluru ) .

This is a positive development for Kannadigas. A collective will to rename the capital reflects a healthy regionalism. Ofcourse, we have seen the agitations against non-Kannada movies, Keralites and Tamils stealing state-govt jobs,etc.These are excesses of the movement at the periphery, but at the core of it, we see a beautiful revival of the kannadiga identity.

I was always under the impression that Karnataka had the least regional spirit w.r.t the other 3 southern states. Looks like, Telugus are back in that spot.

Now Chava, dont piss'em off with the Telugu connection. Already scores of telugus are in their IT-sector. Also many farmers from the Coastal Andhra have settled in Karnataka seeking fertile lands long ago. Lets only go to the length of acknowledging that Telugu and Kannada are similar languages and Bengaluru demonstrates that. Dont telugus call it "benguLuru".

All said and done, its time for భాగ్యనగరం. I'm willing to settle for భాగ్యనగర్ which is easy to pronounce for westerners.

/****************************************Now Chava, dont piss'em off with the Telugu connection. Already scores of telugus are in their IT-sector. Also many farmers from the Coastal Andhra have settled in Karnataka seeking fertile lands long ago.

Kiran - Hyderabad ని Cyberabad ఐనా చెయ్యవచ్చు కాని Bhagyanagaramu అని చెయ్యకూడదు అని నా అభిప్రాయము. Hyderabad has seen the Nizam era to the present IT boom, and I don't think retaining that name hurts Telugu pride in any way. Infact it only shows the open-mindedness of Telugus in absorbing other cultures, and in the process, enriching their own. Of course, we can go ahead and rename Khammam (Sthambaadri), Nellore (Simhapuri), Warangal (Orugallu)..though again, it isn't necessary.

Santosh - thanks for expressing your views on the topicIt is good to see that Kannadigas are finally standing up and letting the world know that Bangalore is after all నమ్మ బెంగలూరు (namma bengaluru) i.e. our bangalore, a Kannada bastion. Having stayed for quite a few yrs. in that city, I have seen many Kannadigas lament that the outsiders come and behave as if they own the place.

But at the same I would like to add that the Karnataka govt. should've first looked at the crumbling infrastructure of B'lore and done something about that before taking these kind of decisions. And name-changing is not the ultimate solution..locals should take example from fellow Kannadigas like Infosys' Narayana Murthy and be able to compete with people from other states..instead of just complaining that they are a minority in their own city.

Regarding the 'Telugu connection', it is not my intention to piss off anyone. As i already said 'This is not an attempt by me to prove that 'Bengaluru' is a Telugu, and not a Kannada word. Instead, I just want to say that the Telugu history behind this word cannot be denied'. Yes Kannada and Telugu are similar, especially in their script. Infact the Karnataka govt. also proposed a common script named 'Vijaya Lipi'. I would call Bengaluru both a Kannada & a Telugu word.

Haa, my bad! I wrote a lengthy post, and had to edit it, and I deleted it confidently, with the assumption that I had it on my clipboard :-( and you know what happened!

Anyway, reposting whatever I wrote:

Bombay, Madras, Delhi, Calcutta, Trivendrum, Cochin, Calicut, Trichy, Coimbatore, Ooty, Cape Comorin, Baroda, Benares, Bejavada, Waltair, Ahmedabad (proposal pending since 1990), ...how many others changed names before Bangalore did? Isn't there a common thread here? ...that all these names listed above were christened by the British, ...unlike, guess what, Hyderabad, whose old name Bhagyanagaram was also given by the Nizam rulers. So, Hyderabad, IMHO, doesn't come in this category, and so doesn't require a name change suddenly. BTW, what was the city called before it was called Bhagyanagaram? (This is an enquiry, with thanks due to whoever shall clarify.)

But regarding this article, I have some comments.1)Though the word Andra word appears in Veda, this is no proof the Telugu was spoken during the vedic period.2)Kannada is older than Telugu by almost 5-6 centuries.3)Telugu and (modern)Kannada are branches of same language(probably called old Kannada, I dont know correctly)4)Hence there are lots of similarities both in writing script and spoken language between these two.5)"Allasani Peddanna", who is called the "Andra Sahitya Pithamaha"(Grand Father of Andra Literature) was in the court of "Sri Krishnadeva Raya" who was a Kannada ruler and his offcial(ruling) language was Kannada.

Because of the above reasons, it may appear that the word "Bengaluru" has Telugu origin, but it is certainly not.

a - Benaglooru is a 100% Kannada word, there is no doubt about it.b - Kempe Gowda cannot be a Telugu ruler because, the word "Kempe" or "Kempu" meaning red is a Kannada word. As I know Red in Telugu is "Erupu".c - Gowda/Ballala etc are like town rulers, they were there through out Karnataka.

So, my request to all is.Since Bengalooru is city of opportunities, dont be in haste to do activitied like this(tellng Bengalooru is of Telugu or Tamil origin). These things are serious. They not only hurt peoples' sentiments but also may lead to hatred.

We all(Kannada/Tamil/Telugu etc) do have very long history. Let us respect each other with not poking into each others internal affairs.

It is not my intention to hurt anyone's sentiments. I have quoted from articles (links provided in the post) which have been written by Kannadigas themselves. If you observe, the title of the post (India's Silicon Valley to get a Telugu name?) is a Question, not a Statement. Neither did I conclude that 'Bengaluru' is a Telugu word. The bold highlighted sentences at the end of the post say it all.

Anon, I am with vTel here, I sincerely admit (as if you asked me :-)).

Your points were clear, and so I take an opportunity to offer more to those. And, please note that I am neither arguing "for" Telugu or that bengalUru is a Telugu word; I am only trying ot offer some clarifications at places.

<< 1)Though the word Andra word appears in Veda, this is no proof the Telugu was spoken during the vedic period. >>

Telugu and Andhra are two different things, in ancient literature. I am not sure if Telugus would be happy to learn that Andhras fought with Kaurava-s in Mahabharata (but well, so did kings of Surya dynasty, who descended directly from Rama) :-) Thus, no argument here.

<< 2)Kannada is older than Telugu by almost 5-6 centuries. 3)Telugu and (modern)Kannada are branches of same language(probably called old Kannada, I dont know correctly)4)Hence there are lots of similarities both in writing script and spoken language between these two. >>

Old Kannada, yes, you're right! No argument here at all!

<< 5)"Allasani Peddanna", who is called the "Andra Sahitya Pithamaha"(Grand Father of Andra Literature) was in the court of "Sri Krishnadeva Raya" who was a Kannada ruler and his offcial(ruling) language was Kannada. >>

SKDR was Tulu by origin, and was given the title "Andhra Bhoja", and he himself has spoken great about Telugu. (I am sure you heard "dESabhaashalandu telugu lessa".) And, what if Peddana was in SKDR's court? Do you mean to say that the fact makes him a Kannadiga?! Well, no! I shall add this anyway: Some of the first Kannada writers such as Pampana were in fact Telugu by origin but wrote in Kannada. That doesn't make them any less Kannadiga-s or more. It just tells that Telugu and Kannada went hand in hand always, until recent politics split them afar, if I may add.

<< a - Benaglooru is a 100% Kannada word, there is no doubt about it. >>

vTel did offer what he/someone found with some insight and research. Any references to your "no-doubt" conclusion, please?

<< b - Kempe Gowda cannot be a Telugu ruler because, the word "Kempe" or "Kempu" meaning red is a Kannada word. As I know Red in Telugu is "Erupu". >>

"kempu" in Telugu refers to the color red and a red-colored precious stone. The word also extends to other words like "kemjaaya" (kempu + Chaaya = the color (of) "kempu").

I reinsist, sir/ma'am, that this blog entry was not to strike a spark of fury among Kannadiga-s or anyone, but was only to see people's comments about the information. At the best, I shall commend vTel for showing so many proofs instead of just giving a statement. (To admit, I wrote something in my initial/deleted post and forgot to add in the one that now exists: "I think I read that 'chennapaTnam' is a Telugu word by origin and thus Tamilnadu chose 'chennai' and not 'chennapaTTiNam'." Now, I feel glad that I avoided that, and you know why! - There's no proof to what I said, and even I am not sure! So, now, I didn't say that :-))

The point I wanted to make is, the origins of Telugu and Kannada are so intricate that it is very very hard to differentiate. At last we can say that both are from same origin say the "old kannada" which is the origin for the "modern kannada" and "Telugu". For examplethe word "channa pattanam". There are two "channa pattana"s in Karnataka(one is near Bengalooru itself) as I know. Channa means good or beautiful and Pattana(m) means town (as in Sri Ranga Pattana), thus I can say that this word is of Kannada origin. But it would be better if we agree that these world are from the root langauge of both Kannada and Telugu, the "Old Kannada". This is just a thought.

I am really confused about "Sri Krishna Deva Raya" after reading your comments. Because as per I read the history(as per Karnataka Education Board and the Kannada Books). The Raya(= Raja) was from Tuluva dynasty, not Tulu. I also read that Tuluva dynasty has nothing to do with the language Tulu. Because the Raya never ruled the territory(areas around Mangalore) where people speak Tulu(the present day) and there is no mention of Tulu literature during his period or in this court .As we read he was a great King who gave patronage to poets from many langauages mainly Kannada, Telugu and Sanskritha. Thus we both the Kannada and Telugu people adore him.

For the question "India's Silicon Valley to get a Telugu name?"

The answer is :It is not mere a Telugu name. But it the name from the language "old Kannada" which is the root for both the langauges "Modern Kannada" and "Telugu".

And offcourse the word "Bengalooru" is not at all of Tamil origin. ha ha ha.

From the above arguments I can only conclude that1) Getting rid of anglican 'Bangalore' sounds more praise-worthy.2) Bengaluru is the local (ethnic) for the city word begin restored.3) Since Kannada and Telugu share a common parent, the word sounds familiar to telugus as well.......hmm.. Lets move on now.

Forget all that..just compare kannada literature with that of telugu's kannada literature is giant forward than that of telugu..as is telugu derived from old kannada where is the question of telugu influencing kannada !!Entire south indian music is called carnatic music..kempe gowda is a vokkaliga (it in itself is a kannada word).Andhra has been ruled by either karnataka rulers or britishers..remember we mysore kingdom was the braveones to fight brishers..Bangalore has many firstone to his kitty in country to name few it is the first city to have electricity,country's top research center IISC was started here..bangalore historical greatness is is unmatachable with any other city..Bangalore had great infrastructure from the bengining..but rate at which population is growing i don't think infra can keep pace with it,instead i urge centreal gove to impress upon other states who have greater density of population to develop more cities rather than doing easy job of letting their people to migrate to bangalore or mumbai or any other city..let every state develop cities..it is for everybody's good that it should do..that's all..

I don't think the aim of the article was to compare two languages or two states. It was just an attempt by the author to bring out the Telugu history behind Bangalore. He has quoted from articles written by Kannadigas, and the links r also given. Bengaluru will always be known as a Kannada word. And Telugus fully support this.Remember, Telugus and Kannadigas have always been friends, and will remain so.

I read all comments, infact we call it as their own opinion.I took history as an optional subject in my UG.The Great Indian History we are reading in our classes, colleges is cent percent real one?. Answer is NO, Indian History was rewritten by English Men, which was helpful for DIVIDE AND RULE POLICY, now the same lie history is supporting by communists, so we are not reading real history, how can we argue?.

I am from bangalore and from the same sect as Kempe Gowda. Our language has some similarity to Telugu. But we simply have no similarity in culture to Telugu. All three parts of Andhra are purely foreign to us - no migration stories please. I have yet to come across any agriculture by people from VishakaPatnam - their language is incomphrensible to us. However, our ansistors the Gangas did conquer and rule Vishakapatnam and then Kalinga.

i dont agree that bengaluru has any connection with telugu, as far as bengavaluru is concerned its a kannada word meaning city of gaurds. it may be the same meaning in telugu but as such bengaluru is derived from the word bendakalooru. so telugu speakers dont get jealous of bangalore fame and try to proove some telugu connection. it will be futile.jai kannada, jai karnataka

Folks,Telugu in Bangalore is a language that is basically Kannada with Telugu Influence due to the Chalukya-Chola period (no the cholas did not really leave Tamil in Bangalore since they were from the Chalukya chola period and spoke Telugu). A mixed language used by the Morasu Vokkaligas. This also influenced other vokkaligas of Bangalore. But we are a not similar to Andhra in any other way. We are basically the same community as Gowdas of Mysore, Mandya, Kolar, Hassan and Chikmagalore. We can be nice and talk a bit of telugu to Andhrites but there ends the similarity.

and who ever doesit matter every language is unique in india and it has its own rich history and comparing is the stupid thing to do , because of u people india is loosing its glory so just respect the culture the language and the sentiments of the people am very proud to be kannadiga but am an indian first .......

dont u hav any other job???discussing and fighting saying this came first that came first etc etc....idiots....go and do some job with out wasting time on such non sense things in an attempt to gain superiority over the other...

Live in the present....wat ever be the origin,now all languages are seperate individual languages which represnts different cultures, let it be tamil,kannada ,telgu or malayalam or wat ever...Live in the present and respect each other's languages and live in harmony as true Indians..

Being Morasu Vokkaliga(Hosadevaru Vokkaliga to be precise) Bengaluru is Kananda word which might have same meaning in Telugu as well(FYI, We speak Kannada mixed Telugu at Home).Kempe Gowda of Yelahanka belongs to our sect.Honestly there is lot of confusion about their origin but one thing to note is there were called Morasu Vellala in Kanchi than mean to say they were migrants from present they Karnataka(Kolar and Bangalore is called morasu nadu) So it is safe to say they returned back to their home land. Further more it states that they were from a place called Yelemunchi near Kancheevaram but there is no such place ever existed near Kanchi. If there is place called YeleMunchi(Which seems to be Kannada word btw) It is near Mulbagal taluk (Kolar dt). They were ardent followers of shiva and frequently visited sheethi betta which is sacred place for all Morasu vokkaligas. Even the Gangas frequently visited Sheethi Betta shows that they are vokkaliga origin.

Kempe Gowda was fluent in Telugu .Bangalore route map is documented in Telugu because Krishna devaraya's court language was Telugu. KG wrote few books in Telugu as well. Further more the Morasu Vokkaliga's have titles like Gowda and Reddy indicates that this particular sub section has both Kannada and Telugu speaking groups. Point to be noted here is either of them knows/speaks both the language comfortably.

Now the reality is my parents call them selves kapu Reddy (They don't even know that they are called Morasu Vokkaligas) which is dominant population of present day Rayala seema. Having said that our cultures, habits and tradition is no way related to present day Andhra. They are all similar to the culture followed across Karnataka.So no denying the fact that there is some connection with Telugu but they are more of Kannadigas long long ago.

Finally, Both are sister languages with significant population of Telugu in Karnataka and vice versa. Let's enjoy the popularity of our languages and do our bit to preserve them.